Many Of Today's Sport Ponies Are Warmbloods In A Smaller Package

With the imported European sport ponies taking more and more accolades in the United States, a group of U.S. breeders discusses the current trends and future of our sport pony industry.

When most people think of ponies, an image of a cute and cuddly, but squatty creature comes to mind; a small horse who typically jumps quite well and exhibits a "daisy-cutter" movement often well-suited for the show ring. In recent years, however, sport ponies have made their mark in the show world, excelling in numerous disciplines and erasing America's idea of a tiny "Thelwell" pony.

The concept of American sport ponies was popularized in the United States years ago, but no registry existed to provide necessary structure for their continued improvement and promotion. The American Sport Pony Registry began in 1997 as a division of the American Warmblood Registry in order to document, grade, and promote sport ponies. As a direct result of these efforts, the ASPR grew to such a degree that it launched as a separate entity from its AWR parentage in 2003.

According to the ASPR's standards, "an American Sportpony is a pony in the general range of 13.2-14.2 hands (though some may fall outside this range), that looks and moves like a small horse, capable of competing in the Olympic disciplines of jumping, dressage and eventing, as well as in driving."

Movement is paramount in the approval process. The inspectors look for ponies with regular and correct cadence, large strides, and an energetic and elastic rhythm, exhibiting significant impulsion and push from the hindquarters.

Jami Jensen, who breeds warmbloods and sport ponies at her Crooked Willow Farms, Larkspur, Colo., said that her German Riding Pony stallion, Crown Heartbreaker (Hattrick--Crown Iowa), exemplifies the sport pony standard.

In 2003 in Germany, the 14.1-hand black stallion was grand champion at his approval site and the following year was reserve champion of his 30-day stallion performance test by the Holsteiner Verband in Germany, beating out other horses, not just ponies.

He received first premium premier status (top 2%) from the ASPR in September 2005, and won the highest scores ever given by the registry of 9 for his breed type and conformation as well as a 9 for his spectacular display in free jumping.

"Heartbreaker is the whole package--excellent temperament, conformation, movement, and jumping ability," said Jensen.

"Sport ponies are bred to do the wide variety of disciplines that children want to do. A large warmblood, while wonderful, can be very hard for a child to have enough leg to keep them on the bit and in front of their leg. Sport ponies are the perfect size, and many of them take kids into quite big divisions when they are ready," said Jensen.

Matt Davis, the breeding/general manager of Crooked Willow Farms, considers the clients' needs when selecting ponies for their breeding program. "Within our own breeding program we try and stay close to the breeding standard, which, in my mind, is a lot like 'little warmbloods.' However, we appreciate that there is a difference between the German and U.S. markets for these horses. Realizing that the largest part of our market is amateur adults and children, we place a very high emphasis on rideability and temperaments," said Davis.